Comic Roundup: April 30, 2008

• Back again for another roundup after taking last week off. Not that I wanted to take the week off; comics for that week sucked posteriors. But let's not dwell on the past. There are new comics to review!


• Ex Machina issue 36: Brian Vaughan and Tony Harris superhero/sci-fi/political comic series keeps chugging along. And though it has never captured that sense of wonder that the early issues had, I'm still interested in seeing where this series ends up. This issue sees another new costumed freak on the scene. It is implied that she's tied to Mayor Hundred and his exploits as the Great Machine, but Vaughan likes to turn things on their head. Thankfully this is another good issue.


• Glamourpuss issue 1: I honestly don't know where to begin. No, this may not qualify as your standard comic book story. But Dave Sim has done here what he's always done. He has stretched the boundaries of the form, this time with a detailed monologue on the realistic school of comic art and his attempts to teach himself the form. It is very pretty to look at, even if it's just an art book in comic format. The writing is engaging and his humor hits the mark more often than it misses. It would be hard to recommend this to everyone. But if you're interested in the art of Alex Raymond and Al Williamson, this would be an interesting treat.


• Secret Invasion issue 1: You may be wondering "Why the heck is he reviewing that now?" I intended to skip this series, but I do love a good event comic. With all the talk about this issue, I could not help myself. Of course the first issue sold out so I had to wait for this second printing. In the end, I'm glad I picked it up. There's lots of big fun and mystery going on with this invasion by the Skrulls. I'm really glad, though, that I read the Secret Invasion: The Infiltration collection that just came out first. This first issue does a decent job of setting the scene, but seeing the lead up definitely helped.


• Comics I'm Looking Forward To This Week: Buffy the Vampire Slayer #16 and Secret Invasion #2.